For the Home Nations clubs that were in action it was a mixed night, that was especially the case for the trio of Scottish clubs that took part in Europa League action. Aberdeen went someway to restoring the very damaged credibility of Scottish football as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against Latvain side Ventspils. It was a shaky start from The Dons and they were certainly made to work for their win but once Jayden Stockley scored their opener with 20 minutes to go they managed to get a proper hold on the game and ran out comfortable winners.
Brendan Rodgers had a bad start on Tuesday night and former Celtic boss Neil Lennon didn’t get off to a great one either as he took charge of Hibernian for the first time. He would have seen his side go behind in the very first minute to Danish giants Brondby and Lennon’s night would go from bad to worse as he was sent to the stands in the second half. They aren’t out of this tie but they will have their work cut out if they are to continue their European adventure past next week.
Their cross city rivals Hearts fared slightly better in the punishing Maltese heat. They came away with a 0-0 draw against Birkirkara and Robbie Neilsopn’s side will now look to complete the job at Tynecastle Stadium next week. Welsh side Connah’s Quay nearly came away with a remarkable 0-0 draw of their own against FK Vojvodina but that result would certainly have been harsh on the Serbian side considering they had 24 efforts on goal and a quite ridiculous 87% possession. It was Aleksandar Palocevic’s 86th-minute goal that finally broke the Welsh resolve. While Northern Irish side Cliftonville where on the wrong side of a 5 goal thriller and threw away a 2-0 lead to Cypriot side AEK Lanarca, they looked like they were coasting just after half time but then a 15 minute flurry of goals from the Cypriot’s proved to be their undoing.
Here is a full rundown of all of last night’s results: